Reaping the rewards | The Peninsula Qatar
Qatar is celebrating the 100-day countdown until the country hosts the world’s most popular sporting event (FIFA World Cup). The event further strengthens the position of the State of Qatar in various sectors and dimensions at the regional and global levels.
Various sectors of the country have been preparing for this moment in order to get the maximum benefit from the event, as no one doubted that this global sporting event will strengthen the position of the State of Qatar in the world economy, including the tourism industry. All indications are that the state will shortly receive a number of visitors it has not received before.
According to the latest reports, hotel occupancy was practically back to pre-pandemic levels in the first half of 2022; 3.1 million hotel nights were sold in the first six months of 2022, compared to 3.2 million hotel nights in the same period in 2019.
The country is ready to receive millions of visitors as preparations for such a flow of guests are well under way with the completion of mega-projects and infrastructure, including hotels, luxurious parks and magnificent landscapes, in addition to other essential components that will also be able to have been completed to host one of the most important football events in the world in the near future.
About 4,500 new hotel keys are expected to be released during 2022, according to a report by Cushman and Wakefield, with most targeting third-quarter opening dates. The report added that this new supply, combined with the existing hotel supply and serviced apartments supply, is expected to deliver about 37,000 keys or 45,000 rooms for the World Cup.
This shows how Qatar has set its strategies in various sectors in line with the preparation for this mega sporting event, a fact clearly reflected in the tourism strategy of the State of Qatar, which aims to increase the number of visitors to six million annually until 2030.
If we put this in the context of the global economy’s recovery from the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic, what Qatar’s tourism sector is witnessing could be larger than expected, especially given the influx of visitors from neighboring Gulf countries, particularly Saudi Arabia.
This edition of the FIFA World Cup Qatar 2022 will be transformative for Qatar as the comprehensive development efforts have accelerated the country’s development in line with the Qatar National Vision 2030.